Improving Adult Literacy in Niger Through Mobile Calls to Teachers

In Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, 85 per cent of adults are unable to read or write, even in local languages. Adult education programmes can be a route to improving adult literacy rates, but non-governmental organisation (NGO) and government schemes are characterised with low enrolment, high dropout, and poor teacher attendance. In partnership with the Ministry of Education, Catholic Relief Services, the Sahel Group, and Tufts University, regular phone calls and motivational support were given to teachers to encourage and monitor attendance of adult education programmes between 2018 and 2019. The impact of this project directly led to improved reading and maths scores. Based on this evidence, the approach has been tested by the Ministry of Education in primary schools.